Starting my first fulltime job out of college was a pretty drastic life change, as I'm sure many of you guys can attest. (So...why was I so eager to grow up again?)

I was commuting an hour each way to work at a weekly news magazine and, by the time I got home every night, I was totally exhausted. Which meant I could barely muster the energy to join post-work happy hours with friends, and my gym routine became totally nonexistent. Welcome to the real world!

Finding that work-life balance, however, is super important—even for 20-something single gals. While being able to have a life outside of work is usually talked about in regards to people with families, new research shows that this shouldn't be the case. In fact, researchers at Michigan State University found that single ladies and gents are having just as hard of a time trying to balance their jobs and all the fun things they want to do outside of work—and that the stress of it all is causing them to be less satisfied in their careers and more depressed. Which totally sucks.

But, because of these findings, the study's researchers are advocating that having a life outside of work shouldn't be limited to just parents. For example, if a mom is granted permission to leave work early to attend her kid's school play, a single gal should get the same opportunity to attend a business seminar at her local community college.

So, while work will still be, well, work, studies like these may help make the case that a little leeway here and there will not only make us happier, but better at our jobs, too. Hey, the boss can't argue with that, right?!